we really havent had any success, Roberts said rega

MASON, Ohio -- Angelique Kerber has Serena Williams within arms reach, and shes trying not to think about it.Kerber advanced to the Western & Southern Open semifinals Friday, staying on track to overtake Williams at No. 1. She overcame a sloppy first set and beat Carla Suarez Navarro 4-6, 6-3, 6-0.If Kerber wins the tournament, shell move ahead of Williams in next weeks WTA rankings. Williams has been No. 1 for 183 consecutive weeks, the second-longest such streak. She is the two-time defending champion but withdrew because of a sore shoulder.And now, she could wind up getting passed by Kerber, who doesnt want to put any more pressure on herself.Of course, everybody is asking me this question, Kerber said. And yeah, lets see what happens in the next weeks or next days. When the time is ready, maybe I can reach the No. 1 (ranking). Still, its a long way. Its closer than a few days ago when I sat here.In the mens bracket, Andy Murray struggled with a stiff back and gritted out a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Bernard Tomic to reach the semifinals and extend his successful summer, which includes his second Wimbledon title and another Olympic gold medal. He has won his last 21 matches, a career high.I think its just fatigue, really, Murray said. I have played a lot of the matches in a short space of time, and also theres been a change of surface as well. It does put a little bit more stress on the joints, the hard courts. Yeah, just accepting it for what it is. Ill be fine. I just need to work through it and accept it.Murray is the only player in the tournament who has won a Cincinnati championship, taking it in 2008 and 2011.Kerber has reached the finals in Cincinnati once before, losing to Li Na in 2012. She was in trouble after a sluggish opening set on Friday -- 17 unforced errors -- but took control early in the second set. She had only seven unforced errors in the final set.Kerber will play third-seeded Simona Halep, who beat Agnieszka Radwanska for her 13th straight match victory. Kerber beat Halep in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Halep has reached the finals in Cincinnati once, losing to Williams in 2015.Karolina Pliskova also advanced with a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 win over Svetlana Kuznetsova. Shell face Garbine Muguruza, who beat qualifier Timea Babos in straight sets.The mens bracket was wide open with the top players missing. Top-ranked Novak Djokovic and defending champion Roger Federer skipped the tournament because of injuries. Rafael Nadal is still getting back into playing shape after a wrist injury cost him two months and was knocked out of the tournament Thursday.Murray is the only member of the Big Four still left, but hes running on fumes. He won the gold medal at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, flew to Cincinnati and reached the quarterfinals despite a worn-down body and a nagging head cold.On Friday, he reached for his stiff lower back after chasing a ball in the first game of the match and favored it throughout the set. He moved much better around the court in the second set, broke Tomic to go up 5-4, and served it out.Tomic fell to 0-17 against players ranked in the top four. Hes 0-5 career against Murray, failing to win a set.Murray will face Milos Raonic in the semifinals. One of the Big Four has won 54 of the last 58 Masters events.The wide-open tournament provides a chance for someone like the unseeded Grigor Dimitrov to win a Masters title. Dimitrov reached the semifinals of a Masters event for the third time, beating top American Steve Johnson 7-6 (8), 6-2.I mean, Im hoping Im going to be playing here on Sunday, Dimitrov said.Despite the loss, Johnson will become the top American in the ATP rankings next week. John Isner has held the top spot since July 29, 2013. Dimitrov will play Marin Cilic, who reached his first Masters semifinal when 19-year-old Borna Coric retired after losing the first set. Coric played the set with both knees taped. NCAA Jerseys China . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys China . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Clearance NCAA Jerseys . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. LOS ANGELES -- If the Los Angeles Dodgers expect to compete against the Boston Red Sox, they need a solid outing from one of their starting pitchers.Scott Kazmir was the latest Dodgers starter who failed to deliver in three of the last four games. Kazmir (9-5) allowed four runs on five hits with four walks and two strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a 9-0 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night at Dodger Stadium.Overall, he just really didnt command the fastball tonight, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. Thats a very good hitting club and they made us pay for some mistakes. Game got away from us.Kazmirs troubles come on the heels of Los Angeles starters managing just seven innings in two blowout losses to the Colorado Rockies earlier this week. On Saturday, theyll trust their fate to Ross Stripling.Stripling (2-3, 4.14 ERA), who is being called up from Triple-A Oklahoma City, has not been consistent. But the Dodgers have few options since right-hander Bud Norris (back strain) is headed to the 15-day disabled list Saturday. Norris injury is the latest of a string that have handcuffed the Dodgers, including ace Clayton Kershaw (herniated disk), who landed on the 60-day disabled list earlier this week and isnt expected back before September.Needless to say, Stripling will be challenged.Theyre a lot of good hitters actually on that team, Roberts said of the Red Sox. I can say we probably caught a break with David (Ortiz) on the bench (Friday night) in a National League ballpark.LLefty Eduardo Rodriguez (2-4, 5.dddddddddddd91 ERA) will get the start for Boston. In his last four starts, Rodriguez has a 2.63 ERA and has allowed only two hits in 12 at-bats with runners in scoring position (.167). This will be the first time hes face the Dodgers.For four months, we really havent had any success, Roberts said regarding his teams woes with hitting left-handed pitchers. Weve got our work cut out but well be OK.They werent OK against Boston knuckleballer Steven Wright, who threw a complete-game shutout in Fridays gem, striking out nine, walking one and limiting the Dodgers to three hits.Outstanding. Complete control, Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Wrights performance. I thought the two big pitches that were really good to see were the 3-2 knuckleballs that he threw to the middle of the order guys in the seventh inning for two strikeouts. He didnt go away from (his knuckleball) even in a four-run game. He executed even when he was behind in the count.Wright (13-5) retired 18 of 19 batters, including 15 in a row at one point, before giving up a single to Yasmani Grandal to open the eighth inning.Watching Dodgers games was what I did growing up, so to have an opportunity to pitch here was fun and to be able to throw my first complete-game shutout was definitely icing on the cake, said Wright, a native of nearby Torrance. ' ' '